UN Security Council extends Haiti anti-gang force by 6 months

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday approved a six-month extension of the mandate for a gang suppression force deployed to combat violent criminal syndicates ravaging Haiti.

First authorized by the Security Council last year, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) had been expected to ramp up between April and October to 5,500 personnel and 50 civilian staff, although it remains short of that goal.

Haiti has been overwhelmed by deadly gang violence in recent years, with swaths of the Caribbean country controlled by heavily armed groups that local authorities have been powerless to subdue.

The Council voted 12-0 in favor, with three abstentions, to extend the force until March 31, 2027.

"The entire effort... is designed around the ultimate objective that Haitians themselves take back control of their own security and their own future, and this cannot and will not become an endless mission," said US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz. The US co-sponsored the resolution.

Russia, China and Pakistan abstained.

Haiti is preparing to hold its first elections in a decade, as well as a constitutional referendum, on December 13.

The resolution adopted Tuesday emphasized "the importance of ensuring security conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections."

Haiti said the extension was "an important step forward in continuing efforts to restore security in Haiti," according to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime's office.

The GSF replaced the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, which was seen as under-equipped and underfunded.

It was intended to be more robust, but as of July comprised fewer than 1,000 personnel, from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Sri Lanka.

Gangs have been using ever more sophisticated tactics and weaponry to target Haitian authorities, and have extensively recruited children.

Tuesday's resolution noted "with grave concern the significant proportion of gang members who are children, as a result of systematic recruitment efforts, including coercive and forced tactics, which deliberately target the most vulnerable communities."

Waltz added, "the Haitian people, they defeated Napoleon, some of the greatest militaries in the world. They have fought natural disasters, they have recovered from earthquakes and hurricanes. Together with them, we can take back the second-oldest republic in our hemisphere."

The vote came as the force continued to face off against the heavily armed gangs.

Late Monday, GSF members came under fire from armed men during a patrol in the Artibonite region, the force said on X.

The personnel returned fire and killed three gunmen, while others fled, the force said, adding that none of its members were injured.

The force remained in the area for several hours before returning to their base, after which gang members attacked civilians in the area, it said.